Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

When you have a stroke, the physical nature of the injury is devastating depending on the severity of the stroke.  Stroke survivors deal with the physical issues differently.  The mental aftereffects are often even more profound that the loss of brain tissue. The emotional toll of a stroke often has more shattering effects than the dead brain matter. After my strokes, I was appointed to be on the Board of the Idaho Chapter of the American Heart and Stroke Association. I am the “voice” of the survivor. The organization helps in many ways.  Concerning the emotional wreckage left after a stroke, this statement is a black and white summary about “me:” “After a stroke, people often experience emotional and behavioral changes. This is because stroke affects the brain, and our brain controls our behavior and emotions. Injury from a stroke may make a person forgetful, careless, irritable or confused. Stroke survivors may also feel anxiety, anger or depres...

Many people ask what caused my strokes. I usually tell them that “I had a torn carotid artery.” Which is true.  However, the complete story is I have a condition called “ Fibromuscular Dysplasia.” Of course, there is a national website about it: The Fibromuscular Dysplasia Society of America, Inc. was founded on March 11,  2003 and received tax exempt status on October 7, 2003. FMDSA is a Delaware nonprofit corporation which is classified by the IRS as exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) and as a "public charity" under IRC Section 509. Donations from individuals and corporations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. The topic and the website are pretty dry and boring. Until you realize you have “it.” From the website: Fibromuscular Dysplasia, commonly called FMD, is a disease that causes one or more arteries in the body to have abnormal cell development in the artery wall. As a result, areas of narrowing (called stenosis), aneurysms, or tears...